Desert Wisdom: Sayings From The Desert Fathers - Translation & Art by Yushi Nomura
Health, like life in general, is a journey, a process of constant change. Sometimes we have ups, sometimes downs, sometimes moving forwards, sometimes backwards.
Many of us start out the New Year with good intentions for making positive changes in our lives. Unfortunately, all too often this does not last for long. Establishing healthy habits takes practice and effort, and usually involves some failures along the way.
However, one of the important success factors for staying on track is to focus on the present moment. Yesterday is over and done with, tomorrow is just another excuse to procrastinate - only today are we able to take action.
Each new day, we’re given another chance to start over again; every day is an opportunity to make a fresh beginning.
One of the most important theories in Traditional Japanese acupuncture and shiatsu is that of the “Five Phases of Transformation”, sometimes also referred to as the Five Elements. As described in Part 1, these five phases are known as Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, andWater and are used to categorize a wide range of dynamic processes of transformation and change within Nature.
Besides being used to classify and categorize various natural phenomena, Five Phase theory also makes use of several relationships which describe how these phases influence and interact with one another.
The first of these relationships is called the Generating Cycle (sometimes also referred to as the Creation Cycle)
By observing Nature
Wood generates Fire by providing the fuel to be burned
Fire generates Earth by producing wood ash which then enriches the soil
Earth generates Metal by supplying the raw ore to be further refined
Metal generates Water by attracting surface condensation of moisture
Water generates Wood by nourishing the tree roots, and the entire cycle repeats
Although intended to be taken more symbolic than literal, the inter-relationships in Nature that are described by the Generating Cycle have much clinical value when applied to the human body.
What do martial arts have in common with the healing arts? In the traditional Japanese practice of KoKoDo (roughly translated as “Royal Pathway of Light”), they are in fact regarded as opposite sides of the same coin.
KoKoDo Shiatsu (“finger pressure”) massage deals with sickness, often regarded as a type of violence occurring inside the body, while KoKoDo Jujutsu (“gentle, yielding technique”) is a self-defense art to protect against violence and aggression, which is viewed as a type of sickness on the outside.
Many of the concepts and training methods used in KoKoDo are similar for both Shiatsu and Jujutsu, including:
Non-aggression
In KoKoDo Jujutsu, the aim is to neutralize an assailant’s strength and aggression while at the same time avoid causing any unnecessary harm or injury. This is not accomplished through brute force against force, but rather by the efficient use of proper technique and non-resistance in order to cancel and neutralize the attack.
Restoring health is similar, in that a person’s body often tends to react negatively and fight against aggressive forces and stresses encountered in life, whether it be physical, emotional, or environmental. Shiatsu, along with other forms of Eastern medicine such as acupuncture and moxibustion, work to gently nurture and guide a person back into a healthier state of balance.
Relaxation
KoKoDo Jujutsu requires the complete abandonment of physical strength, relying instead on relaxation and the proper use and focus of the mind and body. On the other hand, these techniques actually create tension, fear, and stress in the assailant through the application of joint manipulations, throws, and pressure points, essentially “short circuiting” their body and neutralizing the attack.
In a similar but opposite way, KoKoDo Shiatsu identifies areas of tension and stress stored up within a person. By treating and releasing these areas of blockages of the meridian system, blood and energy circulation is improved and the natural healing process is enhanced, helping a person return to a state of calmness and wellbeing.
Awareness
Cultivating an awareness of one’s surroundings is an important aspect of training in KoKoDo Jujutsu; by recognizing potential threats or dangers before they escalate, appropriate action can be taken and conflict can often be avoided.
KoKoDo Shiatsu can also create an increased state of awareness for a person and allow them to become more in touch with their own body and surrounding environment. By recognizing early signs of imbalance, more positive changes in health can be made.
For more information about the art of KoKoDo, please visit Sadohana Dojo
“All the principles of heaven and earth are living inside you. Life itself is the truth, and this will never change. Everything in heaven and earth breathes. Breath is the thread that ties creation together.“
Ueshiba Morihei – The Art of Peace
One of the unique aspects of Traditional Oriental Medicine is the concept that human beings are a microcosm of the universe. By careful observation of the relationships and interactions occurring in Nature, this knowledge can then be applied to the human body for the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of health problems.
Based on this Eastern approach of observing natural phenomena, one of the most important theories in Traditional Japanese acupuncture and shiatsu is that of the “Five Phases of Transformation”, sometimes also referred to as the Five Elements.
Like the theory of Yin – Yang, or polar opposites, Five Phase theory was originally taken from ancient Chinese science and philosophy and was important in everyday life, from farming and agriculture to military strategy and the martial arts.
Five Phase theory demonstrates dynamic processes of transformation and change within Nature, with these phases being traditionally classified as Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water.
With an ever increasing reliance on diagnostic technology for medical imaging and testing, some Western medical doctors are realizing that an important part of their medicine is missing: human touch.
Palpation, or examining by touch, is still 1 of the 4 main methods of diagnosis used in Traditional Japanese acupuncture (particularly the styles collectively known as Keiraku Chiryo, or Meridian Therapy).
As part of palpation diagnosis, areas of the body, especially the abdomen, back, and extremities, are examined during acupuncture and shiatsu treatment for various changes including:
tenderness and pain
tension and areas of hardness
slackness and areas of weakness
temperature differences
skin moisture or dryness
other palpatory findings
These changes often correspond to specific acupuncture points or meridian pathways, and provide guidance to the acupuncturist during treatments.
It is interesting to note that even for health conditions that are primarily emotional, such as anxiety or depression, the body will still manifest specific patterns that can be physically observed through the sense of touch.
As our society becomes more and more technologically based, Traditional Oriental Medicine wisely reminds us of the importance and value of human touch in our lives.
The theory of Yin – Yang is the most important concept in Traditional Oriental Medicine, as all of its more complex medical knowledge derives from this basic foundation.
In Part 1, it was seen how all natural phenomena can be classified into opposite pairs of Yin & Yang, and Part 2 described how these opposite pairs can influence each other in sickness or health.
Another aspect of Yin – Yang is that of constant change – nothing in nature is truly static and unchanging but instead is always in a state of transformation from one extreme towards the other. When these changes occur within set boundaries, it produces stability and order rather than instability and chaos.
A common example of this would be the regulation of your body temperature. Although it normally appears to be stable, the temperature is in fact constantly increasing and decreasing within a small range, similar to how a thermostat controls a heater.
In Western medicine, this concept is known as homeostasis and is responsible for keeping all of your body’s systems in healthy balance between extremes, ranging from the oxygen – carbon dioxide levels of the respiratory system to the acid – base pH of the blood.
In a recent news article on heart disease, medical researchers suggested perhaps handing out statin drugs at fast food restaurants to help offset the negative effects of these foods.
Although this is one possible approach to preventive medicine, Traditional Chinese Medicine tends to take a different view. In TCM, high cholesterol generally falls under the broad disease category known as “Phlegm” and is considered to be a type of toxin buildup in the body. This is usually a result of a poorly functioning digestive system along with improper diet.
Some of the most common foods that increase Phlegm include highly processed items such as white flour and refined sugar, along with animal products in general, and eggs and dairy in particular.
It is interesting to note that in people with allergies, these common trigger foods will often create “visible phlegm” that collects in the respiratory system and manifests as nasal congestion or even coughing up of phlegm and mucous. However, in the case of high cholesterol, TCM views this as a form of “invisible phlegm” which becomes trapped in the body and collects inside the blood vessels.
By minimizing these types of Phlegm-producing foods in our diet, significant changes can often be seen in cholesterol levels. In addition, by taking steps to strengthen the digestive system, further improvements to our health can be made.
In a previous article, we looked at an Eastern Medicine health condition known as “Blood Deficiency”. Somewhat similar to the Western diagnosis of anemia, Blood Deficiency is a weakness and inability of the Blood to properly perform its job of bringing nourishment to the rest of the body.
Its opposite condition is known as “Blood Stagnation” (or “Blood Stasis”) and is a concept unique to Traditional Oriental Medicine with no direct equivalent in Western Medicine. Blood Stagnation can be thought of as Blood that is no longer able to function as Blood. It is not circulating properly within the body and instead will actually create problems and disease.
One simple example of this would be the case of trauma suffered from a sports injury. The purple discoloration from the bruising that occurs is blood that has leaked out from the blood vessels, and is no longer available for use by the body.
Blood Stagnation is commonly associated with an extremely wide range of symptoms, including:
heart problems such as arteriosclerosis & hypertension
pressure sensation in the chest
shoulder & upper/mid back stiffness
dry mouth
rough & dry skin
liver disease such as hepatitis
chronic constipation
sciatica & lower back pain
varicose veins
cold sensation in the body, especially the lower back, legs, & feet, sometimes accompanied by heat sensation in the upper part of the body & face
Many gynecological health problems are also often seen in cases of Blood Stasis, including:
In the traditional martial arts is a concept known as zanshin. Literally translated as “remaining mind”, zanshin refers in part to a state of calmness and complete awareness of one’s surroundings, even when there appears to be no immediate threat or danger.
A keen awareness of our environment, both internal and external, is also an important concept in Traditional Oriental Medicine. Because symptoms are viewed as being the result of imbalances in the body, becoming more aware of ourselves and what creates these imbalances in our lives can be useful for improving our health.
Various factors can affect our health, such as:
type of work we do
location & climate we live in
seasonal weather changes throughout the year
thoughts & emotions, especially those that tend to be repressed
daily eating habits
exercise type and frequency
trauma & accidents
One suggestion for people suffering from chronic health problems is to keep a health journal. By tracking changes on a day to day basis, patterns can often be discovered, such as certain trigger factors that tend to make symptoms better or worse.
The Jujube Date, or Da Zao as it’s known in Chinese, is equally at home in both the kitchen and the herbal pharmacy.
The main use of Dates in Traditional Oriental Medicine is to strengthen and support the digestive system. Some of the symptoms commonly associated with weak digestion include fatigue & general weakness, poor absorption of nutrients, a reduced appetite, and a tendency towards loose bowels & diarrhea.
Adding Dates as part of one’s regular diet can help to improve digestion and increase the body’s ability to make better use of the other foods and nutrients that one eats.
Because some herbs can be difficult to digest, many of the herbal formulas used in Chinese Medicine contain Dates to assist with absorption of the medicinal ingredients while also helping to prevent any stomach upsets or other similar side effects.
When eating Dates on their own, a typical dosage would be about 3 – 10 per day. They may also be added to soups & stews.
If Chinese Dates are unavailable, other types of dates such as the Mediterranean varieties may be used instead. However, because these tend to be much sweeter than the Chinese ones, the dosage should be reduced accordingly.
A strong blood circulatory system, in both Western and Eastern Medicine, is vital to maintaining our good health.
“Blood Deficiency” is a concept unique to Traditional Chinese Medicine and can be thought of as a decreased ability of the Blood to provide the proper nourishment to the rest of the body.
Although somewhat similar in idea to anemia, Blood Deficiency encompasses a much broader range of symptoms, and Eastern Medicine relies on its own methods of diagnosis rather than blood tests to evaluate and treat this condition.
Some of the more common symptoms associated with Blood Deficiency include:
As a New Year begins, many of us tend to make resolutions for ourselves, whether it’s losing weight, getting in better shape, or improving our overall health.
Unfortunately, most resolutions – however good-intentioned they may begin – don’t seem to last for very long. Our modern society, with a focus on quick fixes, immediate results, and instant gratification, makes it easy to fall back into old habits and patterns.
In the East, a different approach to self-improvement is taken. In fact, much could actually be learned from the Japanese manufacturing field where they used a concept known as kaizen to become world leaders in the automotive and electronics industries. Read the rest of this entry »
Although stress seems to be just an accepted part of everyday living in our modern society, it certainly is nothing new. In fact, one of the oldest Chinese medical textbooks, written over 2,000 years ago, was advising people on how to lower their stress levels so that they could live healthier and better lives.
In Eastern medicine, stress can be roughly categorized into 2 types – physical and emotional – although there is quite a bit of overlap between them because Traditional Oriental Medicine views the body, mind, and spirit as being inter-related to each other.
Physical stress can be caused by many factors, including overwork, not enough rest, environmental toxins, and simply pushing the body too much.
In terms of acupuncture theory, it is the Kidney system which is mostly affected by prolonged physical stress. In Eastern medicine, when talking about the Kidney meridian system, it relates not only to the urinary and reproductive organs, but also encompasses aspects of the entire endocrine system, including the adrenal glands. Read the rest of this entry »
In a previous article, we looked at the concept of Yin and Yang, and how Traditional Oriental Medicine classifies things in opposite pairings (as in the example of pain, is it at a fixed location or does it move around, does it improve with rest or with movement, is it better with heat or cold, etc.)
To add further to this concept is what can be described as the “see-saw” effect – when one side of something increases, the opposite side tends to decrease in the opposite direction.
In Eastern science, this was most clearly seen observing things in nature such as the sun and moon – as the sun came up in the morning, the moon lowered below the horizon, and mid-day was the brightest when the sun reached the highest point in the sky. The exact opposite then happened as the sun disappeared below the horizon and the moon came up and reached its peak at night.
Although it appears to be a simple concept, it has extremely important clinical value in acupuncture. One common example of this is in the treatment of migraine headaches. The acupuncture pathway usually corresponding to the headaches is called the Gallbladder meridian – this pathway starts at the eyes, travels through the temple area and the sides of the head, down the neck and the tops of the shoulders, and then down the body and legs, ending at the feet. In Traditional Oriental Medicine, it views migraine headaches as usually being caused by stagnant and congested circulation along this Gallbladder pathway. Read the rest of this entry »
A downside with playing sports or engaging in other physical activities can be the occasional injury, whether it’s spraining your ankle while out hiking, separating your shoulder making that diving catch, or finally getting out and playing that round of golf only to feel pain in your sprained lower back the next day.
Fortunately, the Eastern medical approach can be very useful in the treatment of these kinds of injuries and pain, allowing us to recover faster and get back to our activities.
In order to better follow this approach, it’s useful to understand how Traditional Chinese Medicine views health and injury in terms of the acupuncture meridian system.
Because much of ancient China was an agricultural society, many of the concepts pertaining to this meridian system were traditionally described as being like a network of irrigation channels providing water and nutrients to the surrounding farmland.
In a similar way, the acupuncture meridians of the body can be thought of as an interconnected system of pathways bringing energy, blood, and nourishment to every area of the body, both internally to the organs and externally to the bones, tendons, muscles, connective tissue, and skin.
With injuries such as sprains, strains, fractures, or other similar trauma, these meridians can also get damaged, with their flow becoming impeded.
In Eastern medicine, physical traumatic injuries can usually be classified under the 2 general categories know as “Energy Stagnation” and “Blood Stasis“, although in real life, most injuries tend to have aspects of both. Read the rest of this entry »
You’ve probably seen it before, and may have even wondered what it meant – the Yin Yang symbol, that strange looking circle with a couple of dots and squiggly lines:
Yin Yang Symbol
Yin – Yang is actually a concept that comes from ancient Chinese science and philosophy and was an important part of their approach to viewing nature. Originally meaning “the shady side of the mountain” and “the sunny side of the mountain”, Yin and Yang came to symbolize opposing forces of Nature, such as:
Moon & Sun
Winter & Summer
Darkness & Light
Water & Fire
(It is interesting to note that much of Western science is also based on this concept, such as positive & negative terminals for electricity, north & south poles for magnetism, acids & bases for chemistry, etc.)
This Eastern way of categorizing everything in Nature as Yin and Yang was later introduced into their system of medicine, and is one of the main ways that both sickness and health is analyzed. Read the rest of this entry »
Heart disease, including high blood pressure, heart attacks, and stroke, is one of the leading causes of illness and death in North America and is a major focus in Western Medicine.
Eastern Medicine also places great emphasis on the Heart system and in fact describes it as being like the Emperor of the body – all of the other organ systems are there to work for and support the health of the Heart, as without healthy blood and energy circulation disease soon follows.
The Heart is vitally important in Traditional Oriental Medicine, not only for proper circulation but also for mental and emotional well-being. The Spirit, or Shen as it’s known in Chinese, is regarded as literally residing inside the physical heart.
Many everyday expressions in the English language also demonstrate this close connection between the Heart and Spirit:
to express heart-felt appreciation for something
to have a heart-to-heart talk with a friend
to have your heart set on something
to love someone with all of your heart
to die of a broken heart
All of these expressions convey a deep sense of meaning that reaches into the inner core of a person. Read the rest of this entry »
Many of the herbs used in Traditional Chinese Medicine are actually herbs commonly used in the kitchen for everyday cooking.
Mint, or Bo He as it’s known in Chinese, is quite useful for the treatment of a sore throat. In Eastern Medicine, sore throats are usually viewed as Heat becoming trapped in the acupuncture meridians which travel through the throat area.
Treatment, whether through acupuncture or herbal medicine, is aimed at promoting the flow of energy in these meridians in order to release this stagnant Heat.
The pungent and cooling properties of mint, either alone or in combination with other medicinal herbs, can be helpful in relieving cases of sore throat, especially those brought on by a cold or flu.
To brew mint tea, use 1 – 2 Tablespoons of mint leaf and steep in 1 cup of hot water for about 5 minutes. Be sure not to cook it for too long, otherwise the volatile oils which contain most of the medicinal properties may evaporate. Several cups of the tea may be sipped throughout the day as needed.
So next time you are starting to feel a sore throat coming on, try mint tea to bring some relief.
Words quite familiar to most dieters. However, in Traditional Oriental Medicine, the approach to weight loss is quite different.
According to Eastern Medicine, the digestive system, referred to as the Spleen-Pancreas system, includes many other organs such as the stomach and intestines and has the 2 primary functions of “Transformation” and “Transportation“.
The Transformation function refers to the process of breaking down food, digesting it, and absorbing the nutrients – taking food and transforming it into usable energy for the body, a view quite similar to the Western understanding of the digestive system.
On the other hand, the Transportation function of the Spleen-Pancreas system is more unique to Traditional Chinese Medicine and refers to how fluids are kept in balance throughout the body. Under normal healthy conditions, fluids are extracted from food during the Transformation process and are then transported to the various parts of the body to be used as needed, with the rest being removed as waste.
However, when this Transformation function is weakened and no longer properly processing these fluids, some of the excess can get trapped in the body, creating a condition referred to as “Dampness” which can manifest in various ways, including being stored as excess body weight. Read the rest of this entry »
For those of us looking to make our health a higher priority in our lives, one of Traditional Chinese Medicine’s oldest books, compiled in approximately 200 B.C. and titled Huang Di Nei Jing (The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine), continues to provide us with a wealth of information for improving our health.
In a particular section of this acupuncture textbook, the Emperor was asking his court physician why people of their day weren’t living as long, compared to those of ancient China.
His doctor replied:
“These days, people have changed their way of life. They drink wine as though it were water, indulge excessively in destructive activities, and deplete their energy… Seeking emotional excitement and momentary pleasures, people disregard the natural rhythm and order of the universe. They fail to regulate their lifestyle and diet, and sleep improperly. So it is not surprising that they look old at fifty and die soon after.”
This description, written over 2,000 years ago, sounds much like our own current situation and the doctor’s advice seems just as relevant for today’s society: Read the rest of this entry »
